House Arrest
by SasoDeiFan
Summary: Ichigo lives with Ryou for the duration of her four month house arrest-period, working at the cafe to pay for her stay. Ryou will eventually come around to realize who he's in love with, his pinkette roommate.
1. Chapter 1

"Guilty." The judge slammed his gavel hard on his desk, stating the verdict of the case. She was sentenced to four months house arrest for vandalism. Ichigo Momomiya had trashed Tae's car, an enemy who had convinced Aoyama that Ichigo had been cheating on him, than claiming him for herself after he broke up with her. The audience rose and began to exit the court, Ichigo's mother walking in her direction. She knew that what she had to say wasn't going to make her happy. She knew it was going to let her down. The pinkette's shoulders sank as she exhaled and than straightened up, ready to face whatever was to come.

"You had better find some place to live, Ichigo." Her jaw dropped at the thought of this situation at hand. She was being kicked out of her parent's house. She wasn't so collected anymore as she prepared to testify.

"Mom, what are you saying! You can't kick me out!" Her body jerked forward to grab her mother's hand, but the she moved it from Ichigo's reach. "M-mom." She hated seeing her mother's facial expression like this, it was like a knife turning in her heart.

"You have been so... you haven't been yourself lately at all. And you're eighteen, old enough to be living without the help of your parents." She slowly breathed out and started to walk out of the room, waving Ichigo to follow. "We'll talk about this in the car." The pinkette hesitated to move, but in the end, found herself right there, next to her mother, sitting in the passenger seat of the family car. The ride home was silent for a while. People in the court house that tried speaking with her kept going on about how she needed to think about what she had done wrong, but she just couldn't understand why they didn't see it the way she did. The bitch cheated her out of her own boyfriend, so she trashed her damn car. Suddenly, out of the silence, in the car her mother started another lecture. Like she hadn't gotten enough of those in the last week and a half.

"Have your stuff packed in the ne-" Ichigo could have exploded, but instead kept as calm as possible while stating what she felt was unfair.

"I know you're telling me to move out, but Mom, I have _no_money. It's not like I can get an apartment. I don't have anywhere to go." Her mother heard her out, keeping her eyes on the road. Ichigo brushed her hair back, hating where this was going. This was a day of stress, so much stress that her father didn't even want to witness the trail, but instead, staid home to 'clean the house'. What a lame excuse, like she couldn't see right through that one. "The job at the cafe doesn't pay anywhere near enough." She rested her head on the window, hugging her knees in a slanted position on the seat.

"Ichigo, I love you. I really do, but you're going go have to learn your lesson, and this... this just has to be done." Ichigo didn't want to hear it anymore, so she reached for the radio knob, turning it on. Her mother quickly swatted her hand away, turning it back off. "Damnit Ichigo, I don't think you get it. People will always see this on your background records, and you're too nice and smart of a woman for it to be that way!" She sighed deeply, shaking her head when her daughter didn't respond. "I want you to pack your bags when we get home, and start calling up your friends or something if you can't afford an apartment. The judge said that you have fourty eight hours to figure out a plan before they hook up the ankle bracelet."

As soon as the car pulled in the driveway, the pinkette wasted no time storming into the house, jumping out of the car before it even stopped moving. She walked as aggressively and fast as she could possibly go into her room and onto her bed, pulling out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts, but she just couldn't find anyone that would be half alright for her burden. Mint was rich, yes, but she still couldn't stand the thought of living with that snob. Lettuce was polite, but not the roommate type. Pudding had like four sisters fo take care of, and didn't need another dependant. Zakuro was in her own space and time. There was nobody. This frustrated the pinkette as her face turned the same color of her hair while she chunked her phone against the wall and let out a scream.

Where was she going to go?  
There was so Aoyama, he was with that whore. The only person that she wanted to be this frustration was getting to her, wearing her out and she found herself asleep in seconds, laying on her bed, fully clothed.

When she woke up, her clock read nine-thirty AM. She scratched her head, than brushed her hair back with her hand. Moaning, she wasn't ready to get up, until she saw her mother standing in the doorway. They just started at each other for a while without speaking. She hated what their relationship had turned to. She hated how thin the walls were, to where she could hear her mother crying at night. Did never tries to comfort her anymore, she thought. It was almost like a competition of pride as she felt like she had to keep eye contact with her mom until she finally disappeared into another room.

Just then, Ichigo's phone rang. She looked around the room for a second, recalling when she had thrown it the night before. As fast as she could, she bend over the bed to grab her cell, answering the call.

"Hello?"

"Where are you, Ichigo?" It was Ryou calling her. That's right, I had work today, the thought raced through her head in that instant. "Are you planning on joining us today?" Should she explain, she had to find somewhere to live? No, that would make her seem incapable. She didn't need that. And what would he care anyways? She thought about her answer, how to phrase that no, she wouldn't be attending because of legal issues. And than she wouldn't be attending for the next four month's either. But it felt right to just come out and say it.

"I need somewhere to live, and I have to quit my job."


	2. Chapter 2

_"Where are you, Ichigo?" It was Ryou calling her. That's right, I had work today, the thought raced through her head in that instant. "Are you planning on joining us today?" Should she explain, she had to find somewhere to live? No, that would make her seem incapable. She didn't need that. And what would he care anyways? She thought about her answer, how to phrase that no, she wouldn't be attending because of legal issues. And than she wouldn't be attending for the next four month's either. But it felt right to just come out and say it._

_"I need somewhere to live, and I have to quit my job."_

It was quiet on the other end. Ichigo wiped her face and laid down on her bed again, knowing that she should have reworded her statement. "Gomen, Ryou. That wasn't me asking for anything. I'm just - I can't work there anymore." Still she got no answer. She thought about calling hello to make sure he was even still on the phone, until he spoke.

"What should I put under the reason for your termination?" He asked, the same tone from before. Ichigo didn't want the blonde to think she was a nuisance to society like her mother thought, so she thought about lying.

"Uhh, Ryou..." She couldn't come up with anything, as hard as she thought about it. She shouldn't lie to her boss, she figured he wouldn't understand but it was better to just tell the truth. "Look, I got into some trouble." She knew that he was going to lose respect for her. She was a stupid teenage girl and she had been acting like a stupid teenage girl.

"What kind of trouble, Strawberry?" His voice became a bit teasing, but serious.

"I trashed some girl's car."

"The girl that stole Aoyama from you." She was surprised he knew, she hadn't told him. He said it in the statement sort of way, like he had known since the begining. She answered in a confused voice.

"Yeah. That's her." But she laughed, after all the frustration.

"Regardless, you can't quit just because you made one stupid mistake." Ryou was defending her, she could tell, but that would change as soon as she revielded her circumstances.

"She sued, and I was sentenced four months house arrest." There was a pause between the two again. He waited a long while before answering. That was a hard sentence to come back from, his point was over now.

"So why can't you come in for today atleast, if we won't be seeing you for the next four months?"

"Because I have something like forty-eight hours until the scout comes by to hook me up." She sighed, hating that she was telling this degrading stuff to someone supirior to her. It's not like she was pouring all this out to him and it was going to be the last time that they talked. She was going to see him in four months, _if _he gave her her job back. It was good that she didn't have to transform anymore, because she wouldn't be doing anything for a long while.

"But that still gives you time to come by."

"Mom's kicking me out." She sighed, talking to him like a friends, confiding in him now. "I have to find some place to live soon, in the two days." She played with her blankets, as she drug out her words. She honestly hoped this conversation would just end already, because it seemed the more they talked, the more she confessed to.

"Well strawberry, I think you should come by anyways. Work your last day for a few months, or don't work at all, visit." She smiled and agreed.

"Okay, yeah. I'll be there soon." The pinkette promised and said her good-byes.

"See you soon, Strawberry." _Click._They hung up and she jumped in the shower. It was then that she really realized what she was in for and who she had become. The upbeat, happy, fun-loving Ichigo wasn't there anymore. Ever since the aliens retreated home and there was no need for her to _save Tokyo_anymore, she had lose herself and her colorful personality. While she lathered shampoo all through her red hair, she wondered what made her sink this low, wondering who her bad influince was.

Imediently, she thought of Aoyama.  
He had come back from his schooling in England early after finding out that his mother had passed away. It all spiraled downward from there. Ichigo had tried the best she could to help him with his anger, but he ignored her condolences and turned to the wrong group of people, dragging Ichigo with him. The bad influence had come from that wrong group. They had started him on marijuana, dragging Ichigo down with him. They had kept him out over curfew, taking Ichigo down with him. As much as she loved him, now that she thought about it, maybe he hadn't always been such a great boyfriend. Maybe he hadn't always spent time alone with her like she had always bragged to Moe about. Maybe it was a good thing that Tae had stollen him away from her.

After rinsing the suds off of her body, Ichigo dressed and grabbed her cell phone, alerting her mother that she was leaving for the cafe. She walked out the door, shutting it behind her, beginning her walk to the Mew Mew Cafe. The sun was high in the sky, and there were no clouds standing near it. On a Thursday, there were a ton of people walking about the streets, some on their cell phones, others walking quickly to get to their destination. Ichigo just wanted to get to the Cafe, and when she arrived, Mint was there at the door to greet her.

"Hello there, Miss needs-somewhere-to-stay." She was standing with her weight on her right foot and a large grin on her face, ear to ear, arms crossed.

"Is that an invitation?" Ichigo asked sarcastically, knowing the true answer.

"Not at all." Just after that, Lettuce and Zakuro appeared behind the bird.

"Oh, yes I heard about that, I'm sorry." The dolphin apologized for Ichigo's ignorance. You have to be kidding me, she thought, accepting the statement and walking forward.

The mountain cat continued into the kitchen. Well apparently Ryou has told everyone, she thought. Suddenly, she felt bad about herself, and embarassed. So she started towards his room. Climbing the stairs, she ran into the blonde and Akasaka. The brunette waved and smiled, greeting her without speaking, than continuing down the stairs. Ichigo started to speak. "You told them something as embarassing as that? How could you!" She stressed, keeping her voice in a whisper. "I thought that you would have enough sense t-"

"Relax," He put his hand on her shoulder, motioning for her to calm. "I didn't tell them anything, what are you talking about?" His face was full of confusion, saying, obviously he would never tell a secret of hers. She calmed and inhaled. Something this morning on the phone had made her think differently about him. Partly the reason that she told him the real reason she had to quit. "You know we're going to miss you around here, though." She felt him remove the hand from her shoulder and continue down the stairs. She staid, right in the middle of the case, just thinking for a moment, about what she was really in for. And she bamed Aoyama completely. He was all she wanted, she did everything she could to be next to him, everything! Everything, and he gave her nothing. He did take away though, that's for sure. He took away her spirit and livlyness, than left her for another woman. She sat down on a step, holding her head in her hands, balancing on her knees.

Than she thought about the people around her, they loved her more than Aoyama ever could. Of course it took _this_ to let her understand. Four months of nothing because she thought she had to please him. Maybe she trashed the car to show him how much she was upset that he had left her after what he had put her through. Anyways, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was how she was going to get a crashpad in two days. She couldn't think of anyone. Ten minutes must have passed by, and Akasaka was standing in front of her now, holding out his hand.

"Ichigo-san, I thought you were here to say goodbye for a while. We all want to see you." That's right, she thought, they do love me more than that leech ever could. Ichigo raised her head from her hands and took the brunette's, standing to accomiany him back to the kitchen where everyone was sitting for a break, except Pudding, who they thought, didn't need to know about any of this, and hadn't found out yet. She let go of Akasaka's hand and took a seat at the large serving table they had in the kitchen, meant for holding ready dishes. Mint asked her the first question, as a friend.

"So, Ichigo, why don't you just get an appartment?" Ichigo sighed.

"Mom isn't giving me money for one." Mint nodded and sat back in her seat. It seemed lke forever until the next person spoke.

"Why don't you move in with Moe?" Lettuce spoke with her gaze at her fiddling hands. Her voice studdered and she finally looked up at the pinkette.

"She and I... don't talk anymore, I'd feel like I was intruding." She rubbed her temples and looked at Mint across the table. Not because she expected something, but because she was already in front of her. Mint tried again.

"They won't let you work a job?" She had the most damned look on her face, like a confused grade schooler. Ichigo shook her head.

"There's no exception, I have to stay within one hundred feet of the device they hook up to my ankle." She didn't want to shound like she was talking about it too much, she didn't _want_ to talk about it period, but it had to be discussed. Her mother had been leanient when she found out she had been smoking marijuana, or when she failed four out of six classes for skipping. but she guessed that vamdalism was the last straw.

They sat and talked about the possibilities for another half hour, today being a slow work day, until the rest of the Mews finally had to get back out to work the dinner shift. She was left alone in the kitchen, not including the fifteen seconds anyone else was in than out for orders. Aoyama, Aoyama, she couldn't stop thinking about how much she hated him! She just couldn't! She hated every fiber of his being, she wished that it was _his_ car she had torn apart. But it wasn't, and it was reality that she was going to have to miss four whole months of school under house arrest. She couldn't phathum who it would be with. And she had just said what was said last night this morning to Ryou on the phone. Now it was only about a day until they arrived. They would meet her wherever she decided to live tomorrow at noon.

It was about noon and she knew she should be at home right now, working whatever out with her mother, but instead, she opened her wallet, put the exact amount of money in the register up front for a strawberry short cake and whipped one up for herself in the kitchen. Four months is a long time, she thought, while she placed a bite of cake in her mouth. While she chewed, she wished that her Dad would just be a man and come up here and yell at her for not being at home at a time like this. Or was she just making it more than it was? Was this just something she would forget about, and would the four months just pass by as quickly as the night of the vandlism? She thought until the cake was gone, and than she thought some more, hence that she couldn't get her mind off of the subject. The mountain cat stood to wash the dishes she had just dirtied, walking over to the sink than carrying out the act.

The soap here smelled like oranges, it was her favorite, and it made her smile everytime she washed her hands. She ran the sponge under the water, than cleaned her plate with the sweet smelling soap that she knew would turn her day around, as silly as it might sound.

She hung around until about four thirty, than started looking for Ryou to tell him goodbye, sense, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him around but once or twice today. She knew that she'd find him in his room, and started heading there. She climbed the stairs slowly, savoring the moment until she reached his door. Than she knocked. There was shuffling on the other side, and than the blonde telling her to enter. She pushed the door open, turning the handle, and stepped inside. He was at his computer, she stopped to look over his shoulder like always. It was a site about house arrest. Her jaw dropped. What was he up to? She stepped closer until she was standing next to where he was sitting.

"Look, I want to help you out."


	3. Chapter 3

_She hung around until about four thirty, than started looking for Ryou to tell him goodbye, sense, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him around but once or twice today. She knew that she'd find him in his room, and started heading there. She climbed the stairs slowly, savoring the moment until she reached his door. Than she knocked. There was shuffling on the other side, and than the blonde telling her to enter. She pushed the door open, turning the handle, and stepped inside. He was at his computer, she stopped to look over his shoulder like always. It was a site about house arrest. Her jaw dropped. What was he up to? She stepped closer until she was standing next to where he was sitting._

_"Look, I want to help you out."_

Ryou turned in his office chair, and faced her. Ichigo was hesitant to answer. She really needed a place to stay- if that was what he was talking about. "Help me?" She smiled, hopeful. "Help me out like how?" The blonde was silent for a while, maybe thinking about, how he should word what he was about to say. She moaned and cradled her face in her hands, taking a seat on his bed. "Ryou," He glanced over at the window on the computer one more time before answering her finally.

"Keiichiro has to visit his ill sister for a while and will be leaving this weekend on a plane to go see to her. That's what we were discussing right before you interrupted us on the staircase." He stated. Ichigo just sat there, on his bed, holding her face.

"And what?" She questioned him in a confused voice, wondering if he said that he wanted to help her out, why was he talking about Keiichiro's sick sister.

"_And_you're in need of a place to stay." There it was, this was getting to the invitation of her staying with them. "Keiichiro has to take all of his belongings anyways, seeing that he will be gone for a month or so, depending on the condition of his sister. All that will be left in his room will be the bed and desk, the pictures on the walls. So if you'd like, keeping in mind that you only have a few hours to decide, you could take his room for the duration of his being gone." Ichigo looked up at him, her smile was so wide, she hadn't been this happy in a while. She brushed her hair back behind her ears and stood up to embrace him.

"You're kidding me," Ryou shook his head. Ichigo wrapped her arms around the blonde and held on tight. "Thanks so much, thank you thank you, thank you!" Ryou didn't hug back, in fact, he pushed her off of him and sent her to thank Keiichiro.

"Just helpping out an employee."

Ichigo hurried down the hallway to find Keiichiro, her feet carried her to his bedroom door and she stood in front of it. She brushed her hair with her fingers and straightened up. She knocked. She waited. Ichigo exhaled the breath she had been holding when the door opened to the tall brunette. He greeted her sweetly. "Momomiya-san." With that kind smile, she couldn't help but smile and greet him back gingerly.

"I just wanted to come by and thank you for allowing me to occupy your room while you're gone and I'm under... House arrest." She hesitated on the last part of her sentence, but it came out anyways. Akasaka bowed and excused himself to the kitchen to help close up shop. She watched him leave, peeked through the open bedroom door to get a feel for where she would be living for the next month or so. It was a roomy space, large with a green tinted wallpaper. There was a rather wide window in the middle of the far wall with a desk perched directly in front of it. There was a twin bed shoved in a corner, looking completely out of place in this open room. It had brass legs and a tan bed cover draped over it. She shut the door behind her before taking her leave back to Ryou's room.

"Ryou," She called down the hallway, while walking to her destination. "Ryou," She repeated entering the room now, walking back to where he was laying now, on his bed. He propped himself up by his elbows and looked at her sharply.

"Ichigo, Ichigo." He mocked. "What?" The pinkette tried to brush off his being a jackass and say what she came to say.

"Thanks again." He nodded and laid himself back down, staring at the ceiling again, waiting for her to leave. "By the way." She started up talking again.

"Yes strawberry?" He used her nickname. This either meant that he was in a teasing sort of mood, or tired, and if it was that he was tired, she had better find herself gone soon.

"Um, the lady is coming tomorrow at noon to hook up the system to me. That machine that I can't be outside of a hundred feet of?" She started to bite her nails.

"I know the one." He tore his glace from the ceiling to paste it to her eyes.

"Well I'll have to be over here by noon tomorrow. Is that alright?" She asked, not wanting to seem like a burden this early in the game. She waited as he thought, and after a while of him not answering, she actually though that he might have fallen asleep with his eyes open.

"Yeah, bring over all of your things and we'll set you up in the spare office for now. You would be living there instead of Keiichiro's room, but I need the spare for some summer shipments coming in, and besides, it barely fits the couch that's in there. I wouldn't make you stay there for four months." He was stringing out his point now, a sign that he's soon to fall asleep. At only five in the evening, he was a busy man, lucky to be finished with his work so soon. "And there are some parents your legal guardians have to sign so that you can live here for the term." She gathered the papers and thanked him again, leaving him to sleep when she left.

She hurried out the door of the cafe home to tell her mother where she would be staying. On the way, the sun was setting slowly and she realized that she wouldn't be outside like this for another four months. So she slowed to a short walk and continued heading home. Something inside her made her feel sort of like her old self. Light, happy and pure. She still wore the same old clothes, the same pink room, and the same mews. She then decided to wake up the old her for good. No more of this out of character stuff. A smile was plastered on her face all the way home.

She shoved her key in the front door and opened it up to her mother standing there, looking her straight in the face, with keys in her own hands.

"Ichigo, I was just about to go by the cafe to pick you up." Did she expect her to be out later? Ichigo handed her mother the legal papers. They both stood still, until the mountain cat pushed her way through the front door and started towards her room, picking up a suitcase from the hall closet on the way. Her smile stayed untouched.

"I found a place to stay, Mom." She bragged. Her mother watched her until she reached her room, a surprised look on her face. Like she didn't think that anyone would want such a burden of this current Ichigo for four months. "It's cool Mom, it's at the cafe." She called from the other room.

"That's good." Her mom brushed through her short locks of red, slowly, much like Ichigo does, and stepped back into the house, locking the door behind her and placing her keys back on the end table. Her stride was fast, on her way to continue her conversation face to face with her daughter, the thought of actually regretting kicking her out popping into mind. "The judge called today."

"And?" Ichigo sounded chipper, even for the subject of the house arrest.

"And... He said that a lady will be coming tomorrow at noon." She looked at the legal papers in her hands, sighing. "Maybe you'd like to stay home for the duration of your term?" She shrugged, seeing the pinkette packing clothes into the suitcase they had used on a family trip in years passed. But instead of packing clothes for a family outing, she was packing clothes for outing the family. It was her own fault, she had already given the idea that she didn't want her daughter anymore. But that wasn't the case, she just didn't want what she had become anymore. And the smile that she had been greeted with at the door just moments ago, woke memories of the loving, kind-hearted Ichigo that everyone could fall in love with. Ichigo slowed her packing and looked up at her mother.

"You mean it?" The room's atmosphere was thick now, and still, her face was plastered with pleasure. Her mother nodded, and only then did she refuse the offer. "Mom, no. Sorry, but," Something was telling her that she needed the change, she needed to get out of the house and witness something great. This was the only way she was going to see anyone for the next four months.

"Ichi-" She held her hand out, facing her palm.

"Mom, I'd like to live at the cafe for now. It's the only way that I won't go crazy. I know this is a punishment and I deserve it, but please, let me just leave this place for a while and start over in a better atmosphere. I hate this neighborhood, and these people. They've only been bad influences on me." She threw her last idem of clothing in the bag and zipped it shut, ready to eat dinner and retire for the night.

"...That's a good decision dear, that's how we brought you up. Always doing whats best for your future, with the exception of the last few months." They laughed together, embracing each other tightly. Once they parted, they left the mew's room for dinner.

After they finished eating, Ichigo dressed for bed, turned off the lights and laid herself down on her bed. 'I hope Mom isn't too upset.' She wondered and rolled over on her side, falling asleep fast.

Her father appeared in the doorway to wake her. "Ichigo, you should start getting ready to go now, the lady is going to be here to drive you to the cafe in about an hour." She stretched and that's when it hit her.

This was going to be the longest hour of her life.

She savored the shower's hot water as it fell down her body. Butterflies overtook her stomach the whole time she spent dressing and than eating breakfast. For a long while, she just stared in the mirror at herself, examining her hair, her eyes, her mouth and nose. Than she tried passing the time by sitting in the living room, watching tv. But the commercials were so long that it became uninteresting and she had to go get up and do something else. Her mother entered the kitchen, where Ichigo was sifting through the cabinets again, about to eat to pass the time.

"So the lady is here. Her name is Ms. Tae." What a coincidence, the name stabbed Ichigo right in the heart. And her mother saw it too, getting the same impression from this lady's name as her daughter. She gave her mother a fake smile, a long hung and greeted the officer out in front of the house after saying goodbye to her father, who loaded her suitcase into the trunk.

"Hello Ichigo, I'm Tae, your officer for the next four months, and I'll be hooking you up just as soon as we get to our destination." Ichigo was surprised when she saw that this woman had talked to her nicely and was a gorgeous blonde. The whole car ride to the cafe, this lady was very kind as to console the mew over her experiences as a stupid teenager. As they pulled up to the mew mew cafe and The officer's instructions started, and the mew listened carefully.

"This brace is waterproof, and if you try to remove it, the light will turn red and the police station will be notified. This reciver, you can't exceed outward of onehundred feet, and if this is unplugged, the police statino will be notified." Keiichiro and Ryou stood right beside Ichigo the whole time, taking it all in as the braclet was strapped to her ankle.

After Ms. Tae left, Ryou showed Ichigo to her temporary room, the spare office.

"Thanks so much, Ryou. I can't thank you enough." She flashed a smile as he tossed her suitcase on the single couch in the room.

"No problem." He smiled back, obviously in a better mood than he was yesterday afternoon. It's amazing how good deeds make you feel. "But there's one thing." Ichigo sat next to him on the green couch and listened, saying nothing. "Keiichiro and I discussed this last night, and we decided that you'll be working in the kitchen to earn your living. And that shouldn't be a problem, considering that the diner is within one hundred feet of the hookup." His smile shone bright on his face as he revieled this information.

"Sure! Sure! Anything, I owe it all to you." She folded her legs underneath her and held her hands in her lap, gazing at him thankfully until he agreed.

"Well, make yourself at home, strawberry." And with that, he was up and standing in the doorway of the spare office, looking back at her. "Cause you're going to be here for a while."

**I know, I know. Isn't this just a terrible tease? When is he going to just jump on her like a mad animal?! Right? Well, maybe sooner than you think. :D REVIEW MUTHA'FUCKA'S.**


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